


Anything for you

by Scoby



Series: Reylo experiments [8]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Rey, Brief Reylo-style domestic violence in public, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Conservative Alderaanians, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Finn's first hug, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Founding of the Resistance, Happy Ending, How long can the Force sustain an erection??, Implied Sexual Content, Jedi Ben Solo, Jedi Rey (Star Wars), Marriage Proposal, Poe's first fight in an X-wing, Romantic Gestures, Tantric Jedi Texts, The Dark Side of the Force, Wedding, Wedding Night, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:01:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26227621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scoby/pseuds/Scoby
Summary: “Will you stay over-night?”“No, I’ve told you, not before we’re married.”“Can we get married then?”“Stop asking me, Rey. I’ll never marry you without asking you myself, properly. It just takes a little -preparation.”-----where Ben follows an Alderaanian tradition that takes him to Exegol to find the Emperor - not to kill him or join him, but to ask for Rey's hand. Will he get seduced to the Dark Side in the process?
Relationships: Leia Organa & Rey, Rey & Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Sheev Palpatine & Ben Solo, Sheev Palpatine & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo experiments [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872295
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Will you stay a little longer to cuddle?”

“How did it end?”

Rey blinks her eyes open and lifts her head up from Ben’s shoulder, alerted by the closing music of their favourite holodrama.

“You didn’t miss much. Matt and Kira almost kissed but this time it was interrupted by an avalanche. Matt got buried under the snow and Kira was left with the decision if she’ll save him or not.”

“How can you call that ‘not much’? We have to go back.”

“Any idea when you dozed off?”

“The last thing I remember was when they were in hyperspace in their shuttles on the way to Hoth.”

Ben rewinds the holo to the correct part and they watch the final minutes again. This time Rey holds his hand instead of leaning on him to prevent herself from falling asleep again. She nods approvingly and reaches for a final handful of ebla puffs when the closing music starts again. The crunches from her mouth pause only briefly for her to ask:

“Do you think she’ll save him?”

“Isn’t it kind of obvious? There are four episodes left in this season. How would he just die at this point?”

“He might be saved by something else, or save himself. That would make him more murderous when they meet next time.”

Her mouth has freed her hand from the ebla puffs and she inches to sit at the front edge of the sofa so that she can stretch her back into a wide arch against the backrest. Her arms and legs reach for opposite directions as she yawns.

“Go to sleep, Rey.” Ben slowly strokes her back.

“Will you stay over-night?” She mirrors the movement of his hand on his own back.

“No. I’ve told you, not before we’re married.”

“Can we get married then?”

“Stop asking me. I’ll never marry you without asking you myself, _properly_. It just takes a little… preparation.”

Rey breaths out an impatient sigh but accepts.

“Will you stay a little longer to cuddle?”

That Ben agrees to. When Rey is done with washing up and changing to her sleeping clothes, he joins her in her bed to cradle her tiny, warm, beautiful, in all the ways perfect body against his. It makes him wonder what he has done to deserve this kind of wonder right in his arms.

She feels so soft this close, like a piercing contrast to the fierce creature she can be for her Jedi assignments. Without her compelling, vibrantly coloured and thrumming Force signature, it would be impossible to guess now what kind of power lives in her, in her blood – the unfathomable power of the greatest evil in the galaxy, all turned to serve the light through her.

He breathes in her scent from her neck and covers her chest with his palm to pull the back of it closer to his. Rey must feel what it causes between his legs, because she shifts her hips eagerly backwards, enclosing his quickly hardening cock between the cheeks of her butt, as completely as she can through the clothing. Once in a while, her buttocks shoot teasing squeezes at him.

His whole body flares up with arousal, but he lets its waves ride through him and convinces himself once more that he can wait. This time, he is not planning to wait much longer. He has made his plan, and tomorrow he will start to follow it through.

Over time, Rey’s teasing tires off and her breathing shifts to a steady sleeper’s rhythm. Careful not to wake her up, Ben detaches himself, covers her gently with a blanket up to her neck and tiptoes out of her door.

When Alderaan still orbited, nobody there in their right mind would propose a girl without a permission from her father and an elaborate plan for the occasion, let alone sleep with her before the marriage was sealed. Rey has suggested that since Alderaan does not exist anymore, perhaps those customs are outdated. But for Ben, that is exactly the reason: since the planet is no more, the only way to preserve its culture is that the descendants of Alderaanians cherish it around the galaxy.

There is something else, though, something more personal than conserving endangered traditions. For him, having Rey any other way would take all the romance out of it. With the love of his life, the other half of his dyad in the Force, this gorgeous, powerful, kind, funny, sweet wonder of a being, he wants everything to be profoundly special.

Rey understood when he explained her, but pointed out that at least her father is dead so that part should be handled in no time. He did not tell her what used to happen in Alderaan in those kinds of cases. Afraid of making her worry, he skipped pointing out that she still has somebody from whom he can ask for her hand. Even though she has never really been in contact with him, everybody knows that he is the only family she has left.

At the first light of dawn, Ben hops on his small ship and sets course towards Mustafar.

What used to be his grandfather’s castle is in complete ruins, but he senses from afar that it is not empty. Dark shades of the Force surround it just like the fumes from the surrounding lava fields that are already solid and grey but still in the process of cooling down. The sun is tiny and barely above the horizon, but the whole air is heated from underneath.

He enters the castle ruins with resolute steps, without a need to wonder about the direction because he is drawn to what he is looking for. When he arrives to a plain that used to be a vault though is now taken over by forest, he sees it. Behind its guard of a dozen Sith loyalists, a stone chest screams to him through the Force. He switches on his lightsaber and declares:

“The wayfinder belongs to me.”

The guards recognise the blue blade. They sense the echo of the Force signature of the one who made it – the same person who assigned them as guards here. Years have passed, the castle around has fallen to ruin and they have not needed to guard against anything. Nobody has been interested in the wayfinder until now.

The guards examine the intruder. Not only his weapon but also something about himself reminds them of their former master. But their master’s orders were clear: no matter who shows up, the wayfinder is available only over their dead bodies. So they attack him as a black swirl of cloaks and weapons.

But they do not stand a chance. One by one, Ben kills them all.

Surrounded by his dead enemies, he slides open the grey stone lid that is warm to touch, just like all the stone on this planet. From underneath, he pulls out a little pyramid gleaming in shades of green.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I want to marry your granddaughter. Can I ask her?”

Streaks of light fly by as Ben’s ship carries him deep into the Unknown Regions, with the wayfinder plugged into its navigation system. When it drops out of hyperspace, he sees a dark grey planet that looks completely empty, apart from the looming sensation of the Dark Side of the Force that strengthens every moment when approaching planetfall.

He lands right in front of the source of the darkness: a massive structure of black stone, like a mountain carved into the shape of a reverse pyramid that appears to levitate above the ground. He walks right into the slit under the stone edge. When surrounded by the darkness inside, the ground itself rumbles. In a moment, he realises the reason: the floor is lowering and he is moving downwards with it.

After a long way down to the depths of the world, the elevator structure comes to a halt. By now, his eyes have adjusted to the gloominess and he can see his way to step out of it and into a corridor. Or anywhere else, he would call this a hall rather than a corridor, considering its vastness emphasised by gigantic statues by the walls. But it surely is a Sith interpretation of a corridor, as it clearly leads somewhere, judging from the pattern of the Force here that densifies towards the other end.

At the end of the corridor, he arrives into some kind of laboratory, spotted by tanks containing samples for experiments he prefers not to think about more closely. There, plugged into an elaborate life support system, he finds him.

“At last.” The Emperor's voice echoes monumentally around the stone walls. “Long have I waited for the heir of Darth Vader to come to finish what his grandfather could not.”

“…of Anakin Skywalker, if I may…”

Ben is cut off by a hollow laughter.

“Are you one of those who believe that he turned at his last moments and was somehow pathetically redeemed? My boy, he spent most of his life on the Dark Side, just like you will from now on.”

“No, I’m not here to join you. I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I want to marry your granddaughter. Can I ask her?”

A flicker of surprise flashes over the Emperor’s face. Even if he really has been expecting Ben Solo to eventually find his way to Exegol, this has apparently not been the reason he anticipated. But he is quick to compose himself again.

“I see. She has grown strong with the Force, and wise, and beautiful.”

Ben nods at every word when he describes her. His mouth curves into a hint of a smile when a recollection of Rey reaches his mind through this dark place.

“I understand why you like her”, the Emperor continues. “But you see, she is my only, precious grandchild. You must understand that her hand won’t be available to anybody who is even a little unworthy of it. So, young Solo, what do you have to provide for her?”

“Well, I have a stable job as a Jedi. And some savings. And in time, I’ll inherit my parents’ house on Chandrila and the Millennium Falcon…”

He tries to stretch his words, reluctant to describe his inheritance in detail. He is not sure how his mother’s wealth and his father’s debts will eventually balance each other out. But he does not need to explain that as he is already interrupted.

“The Millennium Falcon? You think that piece of junk will sustain her one bit?”

“She likes to fly it.”

“Do you think you know my granddaughter better than I?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong, but as far as I know, you’ve never even met her. Rey and I have been together for more than two years now. We’ve actually spent a lot of time and done a lot of things together.”

The tips of his ears turn red - thankfully invisibly under his hair and in the dim lighting - when he realises how his last sentence might have come across. He hurries to fill up:

“I mean, things like cooking and watching holos and sparring and fixing the Falcon. Nothing inappropriate.”

Ben wonders if the Emperor’s powers extend to seeing into his mind and if he immediately knows how it just flashed full of the memory of that one time, when he came into his pants when Rey ground her hips against his, a bit too hard for a bit too long. Either he does, or for some other reason there is a hint of amusement in his voice as he insists:

“Don’t think that I don’t know her deeper than that. After all, she’s – my – _blood_. I know that she won’t settle for anything less than a man who can lay the galaxy at her feet.”

“But how would I…?”

As an answer to the unfinished question, the Emperor raises his forearms, rotten fingers gesturing upwards. Just now, Ben notices that the ceiling is open and he can see how a fleet of Imperial-like star destroyers rises to fill the sky.

“I have built this fleet – for _you_. Every ship has the destructive power of the Death Star. The navy of a New Empire is ready to be unleashed. It will be yours, if you do as I ask.”

When Ben hesitates, he continues:

“This fleet will keep Rey safe.”

Ben still says nothing. His eyes keep switching between the sky and the crumbled, artificially sustained face that patiently takes in his uncertainty. The Emperor knows from experience that Jedi do not take this kind of decisions lightly. But once they do, they stay loyal and devoted for decades.

With this young man, too, he only needs to keep laying out the baits, and there will be nothing to stop him. He leans forward towards Ben as much as his chords and tubings allow and adds an element of mystery to his voice.

“And there is more. I’m very well aware that she’s of the – _hungry_ type.”

“Yeah, I know she can eat a lot.”

“I’m not talking about food. Rey will need a man who can stay hard and please her all night – and the following day – and the following night. And on special occasions, like anniversaries, one more day and night on top of that. Can you last that long, young Solo?”

Ben’s mind is racing, processing what he just heard. That is five times around the chrono! The ancient Jedi texts only talk about techniques for men to last for up to five _hours_. Aloud he says:

“Wouldn’t she want to stop at some point to sleep? And to cuddle? She loves to cuddle.”

“My boy, that will all change once you get married. All she will care about is your dick, ready for action whenever she wants and however long she wants it. Can you give it to her?”

“But how is three nights and two days in a row even possible?”

“The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be - _unnatural_.”

Ben’s heart feels torn apart. He can almost hear it ripping in two. Certainly, Rey does not appreciate the Dark Side of the Force. But what if, without the powers of the Dark Side, Rey will not want him at all? Is it better to live with the Light but without her, or with her despite the Dark?

The Emperor senses his desperation and urges:

“You have great wisdom, Ben. Learn the power of the Dark Side. The power to earn Rey.”

Ben collapses down on his knees.

“I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Good! The Force is strong with you. You’ll make a powerful apprentice. Now, we just need to decide on your name.”

“My name is Ben.”

The hollow laughter echoes around the Sith laboratory once more.

“You think anyone would fear _that_?”

“But why would…?”

“You want Rey or not? First, you need the galaxy on its knees. From now on, all the worlds will bow to - _Kylo Ren_.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?”

Rey’s lightsaber swivels like a whirl of yellow laser as she blocks blaster fire. She is already close to the freighter she is aiming for – the one where she knows the slaves to be inside. She only needs to take out the group of three smugglers, and she is aiming to get this done with no casualties.

When she gets close enough, she smashes the blaster from one hand. And then from another. There is only one shooter left and she turns towards him. At that moment, something in the Force tugs her, like she was plunged under cold water. For a second, she has no senses for anything but the sudden amount of darkness that roars through the invisible chords she has grown so familiar with.

She falls down on her knees, and the disarmed smuggler strikes her with her fist, sending her fully down on the ground on her side. Then, the last smuggler with a blaster fires. A sharp, burning pain stings Rey’s right arm. The smugglers take advantage of the situation and turn to run to their freighter.

Rey curses under her breath. She tunes into the Force that is all twisted in a new way but still allows her to tap into it. Her arm extends towards the ship and and the boarding ramp slams shut right before anyone can set foot on it. Then she wills her body to stand up and run to her target, only blocking a couple of more shots before she is close enough to take out the final blaster.

After that, it only takes a little threatening to get them to surrender. She ties them all up, organises transport to the closest jail and ventures into the freighter to help the slaves out. Their words of gratitude are overpowered by the pain in her arm. She finds a medical kit on board and, after tending to the shot, can finally sit back, tune into the Force and search for the origin of her unexpected distraction.

While still at it, she hears a buzz from her commlink. She clicks for acceptance and Leia’s holoprojection appears in front of her. Her face already looks grave, and when it skims down to Rey’s bound arm, it turns even grimmer.

“You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

Leia knows better than to press her about it. She rather goes straight to her point.

“There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?”

“Yes. On the Dark Side.”

“Come back at once, Rey, there are so many things that need to be done. We need to gather all that’s left of the old Rebel Alliance and the supplies and funds. Whoever it is, they might strike at any moment anywhere and we need to…”

“Do you have any idea who it is?”

“Do you?”

The last thing Rey wants to do is to say it aloud, especially to Leia. But she cannot pretend that her feeling would only concern a general awakening of the Dark Side of the Force somewhere out there. She cannot deny feeling it right beside her, inside the dyad she is part of.

“It’s Ben.”

Leia closes her eyes at the impact.

“Somehow I always knew it. Before he was even born. But I gave myself permission to hope for better, when he did so well with Luke’s training and has been so happy with you. I failed him after all.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Leia takes a deep breath to consider Rey’s words.

“Maybe. Impossible to analyse. What matters is what we do now. I know a few people who would probably drop everything they are doing and join a resistance movement the moment I’d ask them. But gathering a full fleet will take time, perhaps more time than we have.”

“Leia, shouldn’t we rather turn him back and not have to worry about a fleet?”

“You sound just like Luke. I know it’s noble and fitting to the Jedi ideals to aim at the source of the darkness to bring balance to the Force and all that. And stars, sure I want him back more than anything. But what if that doesn’t go the way you think? You're too young to remember the Empire, but let me just tell you in brief that real people are in danger, all over the galaxy. We need to take care of their defence first. When that’s secured, we can tend to our personal interests.”

“Fine. You do that. I’m going to him.”

“Do you even know where he is?”

“He cannot hide. Not from me.”

They close the connection and Rey tunes deeper into the Force, all the way until the transportation for the smugglers arrives and she is thanked but politely asked to leave the freighter because it will be examined in case of evidence for other crimes. Chewing the inside of her lip, she moves to her own ship. Mind blank about anything else to do, she sets course back home to Chandrila.

Once safely on autopilot, she continues trying to reach him. But the Force gives her no hint about his location, only his steady presence as always. Its signature used to be so familiar to her - still was this morning - until it changed in an instant. She gives a gentle nudge on their bond. It travels to the blackness on the other side and gets answered with a similar one towards herself.

They usually do this at least once every day when they are apart. Even now, the resonance of Ben’s response in the Force makes it obvious that the gesture is as full of love as always. It brings tears to Rey’s eyes. She spends the rest of the way clutching the bond from her side, like clinging to his hand through the vastness of space. And through the invisible chords between them, she feels how his presence holds her, brushes against her field and lets her sense an echo of words:

_It'll all be ok, sweetheart. I’m coming for you._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is everyone calling it the New Empire now? What makes you so sure about that? He could as well be coming for me alone, right? Right?”

Rey uses the Force to break tidily into Ben’s home. But it shows no clue to what has happened. All his few possessions are in their usual order in the small space.

_Where are you?_ She sends a question through the Force but only gets a hasty nudge in response. Somewhere in the galaxy, he is busy with something.

What if Leia is right? What if the awakening they both felt is not just about one person changing ideals? What if it comes with the actual rise of an Imperial-style navy that really will attack ordinary people? Is that what Ben is preparing right now?

_Whatever you’re doing, stop it and come back. You’re a good person; don’t do this,_ Rey keeps repeating to their bond as she walks out and climbs on her speeder.

She passes by Han and Leia’s house, which looks like a nest of ants. It is quickly transforming into a makeshift rebel base. The yard and the surrounding area are filling up with ships. Half of those come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes – the other half are X-wings and A-wings in organised ranks. Apparently, Leia has talked somebody in the New Republic Navy over to help out.

Rey squeezes in through a group of people who are sorting out recruitment material by the entrance. They distribute datasticks and even a large pile of paper posters filled with an epically lit picture of a determined pilot and compelling words urging viewers to join the Resistance.

“Will you go and take some to your homeworld?” somebody asks Rey and hands a set of material towards her direction.

She shakes her head and ventures deeper into the house. She can understand their idea but has no interest in going back to Jakku now. It would only delay her real quest of finding Ben. And preferably, she would never go back there in any case.

Almost everywhere, the floor is covered with mattresses for people to sleep at night. Somebody spots Rey through the crowd.

“Hey there! Registration for new recruits is here. Just fill in your name and some details here and we’ll be on our way to saving the galaxy like this New Empire was a can of trash.”

Rey recognises the curly hair and the dark eyes of the pilot in the recruitment poster, even though the heroically serious appearance is gone and his face is now animated by a light grin.

“Actually, I’m not a recruit. I’m a… family friend. I need to talk to Leia.”

“To the General? I don’t think she’ll have time…”

“She _will_ have time for me.”

Rey really hopes she will not have to revert to mind-tricking this innocent poster boy, so she just stares at him with stern, piercing eyes. He seems eager to resist at first, but when somebody taps on his shoulder to ask for his attention to something new, he remembers he is busy and shrugs.

“Well, you may try. She’s in the study. Over there.”

“I know where the study is”, Rey points out.

“Ah, sure you do. It was nice to meet you, anyways. I’m Poe.”

“I’m Rey." Poe's smile infects her. "See you around.”

Poe pats her healthy arm firmly, and she continues to push through the crowd towards the study.

There is a line of people waiting for their turn to talk with Leia, but when she spots Rey by the door, she gestures her to pass the others and stands up to quickly hug her and feel for her bound arm. When the touch causes no visible pain in Rey, she relaxes a notch and asks:

“Have you found out anything about him?”

“Nothing certain. But I think he’s coming this way.”

Leia sighs slowly.

“It’s good and bad we’re here, then. At least I think they wouldn’t blow up this whole planet while you’re here. And we have enough recruits to protect the people to some extent. Still, the New Empire could destroy our whole fleet before we even have it ready, now that we’re all exposed here.”

“Is everyone calling it the New Empire now? What makes you so sure about that? He could as well be coming for me alone, right? Right?”

Leia gives Rey a motherly tap on the forearm.

“Do you still think this is his personal exploration of different aspects of the Force? Jedi don’t turn to the Dark Side like that. Even if it would start that way, it would very quickly escalate. You know who is taking care of that.”

“Do you think Ben has met him?”

“Who else would have made him turn?”

Rey’s stomach churns at the thought. This time she knows that Leia is right, despite the urge to deny it.

“But why in the stars would Ben have gone to _him_?”

“We cannot now, at least not yet. That’s why it’s essential we focus on the task at hand.”

Rey gives in to the impatient stare of the next person in line and backs away. She zigzags through the crowded house, waving a goodbye at Poe who only responds quickly before getting busy again with briefing a group of new recruits. With a little help from her elbows, Rey makes it back to the door and through the yard where new people still keep arriving.

When Rey approaches home, she tenses up with a mixture of fear and hope, when she sees a dark-clad figure looming by her door. She accelerates her speeder, but once she gets close enough to recognise who it is, she melts into a smile.

“Did you see our house?” Han asks with a grin.

Rey nods in understanding and opens the door. “Come in.”

Han helps Rey change the bindings of her arm, and they make dinner out of the random selection of ingredients in Rey’s pantry. First, they chat mostly about Ben, but after that subject has been exhausted without getting any closer to a solution, they drift to an alteration between idle chatter and silence. Both welcome the distraction, eager to give up for today and pick up trying to make sense of everything tomorrow.

When the night falls, they set up a blanket and pillow for Han on the sofa. After wishing Han good night, Rey curls into her bed and sends another good night wish out through the Force bond. The gesture she gets in return is a comforting, ethereal caress that helps her fall asleep faster than she thought possible after a day like this. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He’s here.”

The following days pass by Rey trying to reach Ben with alternating levels of success. Whenever he has time to pass through their bond anything more than quick nudges, he keeps reassuring that she does not need to worry, no harm will come to her, and she needs to just wait a little longer and he’ll be there. When Rey tries to ask if any harm will come to others, he instantly gets busy with something else.

The part of waiting for him she obeys - reluctantly, but considering the possibility that Leia is right and her staying on Chandrila prevents Ben from blowing up the whole planet. To keep her mind occupied, she talks Han over to joining her every day to do little things to help the Resistance, mostly fixing ships.

Despite his loud protests each morning, Han seems to enjoy it. Rey is sure that secretly he even likes the way how young recruits look up at him like he was a hero with miraculous hands that can fix anything they find themselves hopeless with, no matter how badly he tries to deflect their looks and admiring words with sarcastic comments.

Every night, Han sticks to sleeping on Rey’s sofa. Even day-time, he makes a point not to enter their house and only works in the yard and talks with Leia during the brief moments when she comes outside.

After a couple of weeks, when Rey is putting finishing touches on an A-wing’s hyperdrive she has been fixing a whole afternoon, the wrench falls from her hand as she senses something new in the Force.

“You ok?” Han looks up from below the starfighter.

“He’s here.”

Even as Rey says it, something on the sky draws everyone’s eyes up. The largest ships they have ever seen just dropped out of lightspeed. Han is the only one in the yard who recognises them as star destroyers. As they watch, smaller black ships start swarming from them towards planetfall.

Screams and shouts from the yard bring everyone out from the house, too. Leia only needs one glance at the sky before giving the order for pilots to start their engines and ground troop to assemble.

Some of the ships land in the area between the house and the city centre. A cloud of sleek fighters hovers above the landed ships, dangerously close to the skyscrapers. Most of them have never seen that kind of fighters in real life, but based on holos, they recognise them as Imperial TIE fighters.

“Poe, half of the wings ready to protect the city at all cost, half to protect the ground troop. But don't do anything unless they open fire”, Leia speaks steadily in the commlink.

“Yes, General.”

The ground troop starts moving with a small cloud of starfighters above it, safeties already disengaged in their blasters. Rey walks with them and speeds up her steps to make it to the first row.

It looks too obvious where this is going. If she only can get to Ben first, maybe the bloodshed can still be avoided. She trusts Leia not to give any rash orders, but can the others be trusted to wait for her command once they see what they are up against? Especially Poe seems way too eager to trash the New Empire.

They make it only half-way towards the landed ships when they are forced to halt by ranks of stormtroopers emerging from freighters that turn out to be carriers for a massive ground corps. The view is terrifying for the young volunteers who have only seen samples of stormtrooper armour in holos and museums. And possibly, this is not even the whole army but only the frontline.

The stormtroopers fill a vast area, reaching the yards of the nearby houses where people shut their curtains after frightened glimpses out. Only in the middle of their lines, the troopers leave an empty corridor. At the other end of it, a black shuttle lands, raising a pair of enormous wings towards the sky.

Right there, Rey feels the familiar but twisted presence, getting stronger as it gets closer. She leaves the Resistance ranks behind and runs into the corridor between the stormtroopers, not caring about the stares from both sides.

As she draws closer to the end of the lines, she sees how the boarding ramp of the shuttle lowers and, through the released steam, Ben’s figure walks out. He is clad in all black now, with a long cape hanging from his shoulders below the level of his knees. A black cloud follows him from inside, and when he is close enough, Rey can see that it is formed of floating black Doysean roses.

They embrace with their usual warmth and relief after being apart for days. When Ben lets go, a gesture of his fingers gathers the Doysean roses from the air into Rey’s arms. She opens her mouth to start the speech she has been preparing in her mind the past days – to ask what has happened and then gently lead him to remember why he wants to turn back. But Ben is faster with dropping down to one knee and starting his own:

“Rey, darling, gorgeous, love of my life, half of my soul. I have cherished you and wished for your happiness ever since the first day I saw you. And over the years, that has evolved into something so much deeper: the greatest joy and desire of my life. I love you. Most ardently, with all my heart. Will you bless me with the honour of becoming my deeply adored and worshipped wife, accepting my eternally devoted love and ruling the galaxy by my side?”

From his pocket, he summons a little box to his hand. When he opens it without touching, Rey sees black silky stuffing and, propped in their middle, a silver ring with a large, deep black obsidian jewel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not going to call you anything but Ben. Answer my question."

Rey’s eyes dart between the flowers in her arms, the ring and the scene of still stormtroopers and ships all around them, until she cannot anymore take them off Ben's eyes. Every moment she hesitates, his gaze grows more begging. He extends the ring closer to her and adds in a quiet and shaky voice:

“Please?”

Rey’s throat feels stuck with tears creeping to the surface and she has to make an effort to speak:

“Ben, is this all… for me?” Her arms occupied by flowers, she gestures around with her head.

“That’s my old name.”

“What?”

“It’s time to let old things die. My name is Kylo Ren now.”

“I’m not going to call you anything but Ben. Answer my question: is this all for me?”

“Of course.”

Rey subtly shakes her head and the first tear rolls down her cheek.

“Don’t do this, Ben. Please, don’t go this way.”

“Don’t you see what my new powers can do? And you haven’t even seen our whole fleet yet. It has more ships than you’ve ever seen, all with planet-killing weapons. I have already one on its way to Jakku. To blow up the whole system and kill everyone who has ever harmed you there. And another squadron to the Hosnian system to destroy the New Republic that has failed to bring order to the galaxy. You and I can rule together and make things the way we want them to be.”

“I don’t know you anymore. Ben, you’re breaking my heart. You’re going down a path I can’t follow.”

“No, no, you’re still holding on! Let go!”

Rey shakes her head again, this time more diligently, which only fuels his rising fury. He puts the ring down, extends his other hand and pinches its fingers. It takes her a moment to understand what is happening. First, she just realises that she is hovering above the ground and cannot breathe. The Doysean roses fall from her grip as something around her throat drags her up and she recognises that it is him. She has heard that the Dark Side of the Force can be used this way. But she has never seen it and never imagined experiencing it from the person she loves the most.

When her face twists in agony, Ben finally lets go in shock. Rey falls on the ground and Ben leans down towards her, speaking in a panicked outburst:

“I’m sorry, darling, I don’t know what I was doing. I’m so sorry.”

But before he can touch her, Rey rolls out of his reach, calls her lightsaber from her belt to her hand and ignites it between them.

“You’re not touching me again.”

“I said I’m sorry. You should listen when I’ve done so much for your best.”

“Killing innocent people is not for my best. Yes, there are people in Jakku who have treated me badly in the past, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to die.”

“They’ve hurt you!”

Rage conquers his whole being and, in an instant, he is holding a lightsaber, too. Not the one he inherited from his grandfather but a new one with a red, crackling blade and a crossguard below it. He attacks Rey and she defends with a ferocity they have never experienced when sparring together.

The troops around them take it as an order to defend their master and open fire at the Resistance. The ships above their ground troop respond by firing at the ranks of stormtroopers. A few home-made-looking ships land between the two sides so that the Resistance can take cover behind them. The pilots are shot but dozens of others saved.

Resistance’s air assault brings the TIE fighters out to attack. Quickly, the air is swarming with ships blasting and dodging each other back and forth. Poe feels an urge to bring the rest of the wings to help, but he has promised to prioritise the defence of the city centre. He orders the rest of the pilots to follow him around the dog fight to position themselves between the enemy ships and the skyscrapers.

He delights in the feeling of accelerating an X-wing in a smooth arch across the sky. He has only had time for short practice flights during the past days. Before that, he has flown a multitude of ships and home-made constructs resembling ships, but never anything this sleek and so eager to obey his every gesture. It feels like the starfighter can anticipate his moves.

He has heard his mother describe this feeling several times. She always told him, though, that she wishes he would never experience it. That he should be happy that the Empire is gone and he can fly for fun and never in a fighter. And he tried to take her advice and enjoy whatever ship he could get his hands on. But in secret, he could not let go of the dream of one that would move like this. Even though they should stay low and not attract attention, he cannot resist making a little vertical loop, like a somersault of joy.

On the ground, Rey has managed to fight Ben to back a few steps and is pushing him further back through their interlocked lightsabers, but he is not giving in anymore.

“Now _you_ listen”, she shoots at him. “Ben Solo, if you ever want me to marry you, you start by stopping this fight and call back the assaults on Jakku and Hosnian systems. Then I’ll _consider_.”

Ben’s anger melts a notch when his expression turns puzzled.

“But I don’t understand. The whole galaxy would be ours. What more could I possibly give you?”

“Don’t you really get it? All I ever wanted was you. At least, I wanted what you used to be before you called yourself Kylo Ren and moved around with an oversized fleet of black ships.”

“Really? That’s not what he said.”

“Who?”

“Your grandfather.”

“What!? Why in the stars would you ever take _his_ advice? Is he your master now?”

“He might think so. But what the Emperor doesn’t know is that together you and I are more powerful than him. We can overthrow him, and then you’ll rule together with me, as my Empress.”

“No.” Rey swings their blades free so that she can attack him again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Rey, darling, gorgeous, love of my life, half of my soul. I… I… I forgot how it went…”

On the sky, Poe has been spotted. When the TIE pilots notice that they have got caught between two jaws of Resistance ships, part of them turn away from the fight and attack the group of X-wings in front of the city skyline, just in case. Poe orders them to fire back and soon the dog fight spreads across the sky, dangerously close to the city centre.

It has been so long since any war operations that nobody is even thinking about evacuating the buildings. Instead, thousands of curious people show up on the balconies and windows to watch, even though laser bolts pass alarmingly close. Leia's mouth pinches into a thin line when she watches it through electrobinoculars.

If she had anything to do with the city's security officials, people would have been neatly in underground shelters already minutes ago. But she cannot be everywhere, so she only focuses on giving steady orders aimed at subtly pulling the fighting fleets further and further away from putting civilians into danger.

“Make this stop!” Rey screams as she hammers strike after strike on Ben.

He does not answer, just fights her back, pushing her all the way between the ranks of stormtroopers. They silently move aside to give way, determined not to interfere with their master’s affairs.

Their complacency only escalates Rey’s fury. She fights her way back to the empty corridor, pulls together all her powers, lets the Force storm through her and throws Ben down on his back with a lightsaber blow accompanied by a kick. Immediately, she steps on his wrist so that she can yank his hilt out of his grasp and extinguish both sabers.

She stands still for a moment to let her breathing steady, foot still on his wrist. But when she turns to look at him and sees what she just did, she falls next to him on her knees in horror. Her blade has burned the whole right side of his face open, from forehead diagonally down over his cheek and further down his neck, splitting even the collar of his shirt.

“Sorry, Ben, I didn’t mean it to go so far. I just got so angry. I don’t understand. So many people are dying in vain.”

“It’s not in vain when it’s for you.”

“I want them to live. Will you do that for me? Stop this attack and the ones on Jakku and Hosnian systems, and disintegrate this fleet.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes, most definitively.”

He reaches for a commlink in his pocket, presses a button and starts speaking:

“Fall back, everyone. The attacks are canceled. You’re all ordered to load your ship with explosives and leave all weapons inside. Then you abandon ship and blow it up. After that, you’re free to go wherever you want but never to fight against the New Republic or its allies again.”

Rey’s shoulders relax and her mouth curves into a smile when the shooting around them stops and the TIEs scatter to the less populated areas as the pilots fulfil the order of abandoning their ships and blowing them up. The stormtroopers start packing their weapons and armour into the freighters they arrived on in preparation for a similar elimination.

“Better?” Ben asks, hand rising to tentatively brush Rey’s forearm.

She lets it happen, even repositions her arm a bit to give him better access.

“Much better.”

“In that case, Rey, darling, gorgeous, love of my life, half of my soul. I… I… I forgot how it went…”

“It’s ok. I already heard it once. It was perfect except for the last part. Would you like to correct that?"

“Yes. I just mean… Will you marry me?”

“As long as it’s just you, Ben, then yes, with all my heart yes.”

She bends down to kiss him. He smiles but only for a split second before the movement of his torn face makes him grunt with pain. Rey lifts her head to look for somebody who could help. Her eye is caught by a stormtrooper who is walking past them after just discarding his blaster and armour, revealing a human body with a broad frame, dark skin, short black hair and a confused face.

“Hey, you there! Would you please help me get a transportation for him to the nearest hospital?”

“Sure”, Finn responds, looking already a little less lost.

So many things happened for the first time in his memory within just a couple of minutes. He saw a planet through his own eyes without the filters of the helmet in between and felt atmospheric gases and their movement on the bare skin of his face and hands. Then somebody looked straight in his eyes, smiled and asked him to do something, and it was not an order. He could choose to do it or not, out of his free will that was dormant for the major part of his life.

Of course he wants to do it now. He will probably want to do anything when somebody asks him that way. And without this task, he would have no idea what would to do first as a free man. So he hurries with focused urgency to arrange a transport.

“Black One, what do we do now?”

When the TIEs stopped firing and scattered and the first pilots landed, stepped out and blew up their fighters, Poe ordered everyone to stop shooting. Now they are hovering in the air and their comm line is silent as he is thinking about what to do, for an extra ordinarily long time for him.

“I… I guess we’re done here.”

They fly back towards Han and Leia’s house and land wherever they can find free space. The area is swarming with people going back and forth, some tending the wounded, some lost with what to do with their newly acquired freedom, some just enjoying the rays of sun on their skins for the first time they can remember. When Poe hops out of the cockpit, somebody from the crowd approaches him.

“Eh, hey, can you help me get a transport to a hospital? Kylo Ren’s hurt. His - I guess – fiancée asked for help.”

“Sure, let’s go to the base to get a speeder. What’s your name?” Poe asks as they walk towards the house.

“FN-2187.”

“F…what?”

“That's the only name they ever gave me.”

Poe shudders. If the Emperor really is behind this, he must have been building his navy for decades if it included grown-ups who do not even remember their own names. It was a high time it got all destroyed safely. Aloud he says:

“Well, I ain’t using it. FN, huh? Finn. I’m gonna call you Finn. Is that alright?”

“Finn… yeah, I like that.”

“I’m Poe.”

“Good to meet you, Poe.”

“Good to meet you, too, Finn. Here, you can take this. Take care.”

Poe gestures at a speeder in the yard. Before Finn has time to climb on it, Poe spontaneously hugs him. But he backs away when noticing how stiff Finn’s body remains and how his hands stay on his sides apart from rising a little out of astonishment.

“Oh, sorry if I went too far…”

But Finn grabs his arm and clings to it, looking lost but not letting him go.

“Or is it that you’ve never… _hugged_ before?”

Finn’s gaze drops down and his grasp somewhat relaxes, which serves as an answer. Poe’s face shifts into a grin.

“In that case, let’s try again. I’ll show you. Arms like this.”

He extend his arms diagonally between his front and side, right one a little higher and left one lower. Finn copies his position and Poe closes the gap again until their bodies touch.

“Then you fold them like this. And just breathe.”

He rests his arms around Finn’s back again and feels him do the same in a moment. Finn is still tense but a few breaths calm him down. When they break apart, he laughs out of joy.

“That was awesome!”

Finn’s head spins when he marvels at the capacity of humans to make each other feel this good and this cared for. And that has been kept secret from him for his whole life so far.

“I can teach you a lot more.” Poe punches his shoulder lightly. “But go help your friend first.”

Finn jumps on the speeder. Even the touch of the seat, handlebars and controls feels profoundly magical without the armour in between. Everything in this whole world feels closer to him than before, and he yearns to explore everything about it. But first, he puts all other plans aside and navigates through the crowd back to Rey.


	8. Chapter 8

Among the various kinds of wedding ceremonies they have heard about, they have chosen a rather short Corellian one, which involves them burning a twig of wood between them and sprinkling the ashes on each other. The act symbolises the fragile and fleeting nature of life and how love is the only thing that really matters in it.

Traditionally, a strip of fabric would be ripped of the hem of the bride’s dress and burned together with the twig, but Rey would not even consider wearing one. She has opted for a layered shirt with long drapes, though, which allow for some extra fabric to be ripped off and burned. And her grey trousers have decorative patches in just the right places to accentuate the shape of her legs beautifully.

Ben has made a trip to Corellia specifically to bring her a necklace of pale yellow pearls which only a certain mussel species on that planet can make. It was a long trip but feels fully worth it now that he watches the pearls glimmer over Rey’s collarbones.

Ben’s dark grey shirt has similar decorative patches as Rey’s trousers. The lightsaber cut over his face has been tightly stitched, but he will probably always wear the remaining thin scar. Out of a temporary misjudgement, he let Rey cut his hair the day before, after she swore to only snip out a little. As a result, his hair is a bit shorter on the left and longer on the right. But Rey seems to adore it or something else or just him in general, because she keeps looking up to him in awe the whole ceremony.

After the official part is over, they all have dinner, which mostly follows Alderaanian wedding cuisine. Some vegetables that used to only grow there were extinct with the planet, but even Leia is impressed by the close replacements found from other worlds. The traditional dinner sequence is disregarded, though. Instead, all the food is served just like Rey likes to eat: appetisers, desserts and main courses all mixed in the same long table in a random order. Once in a while, eating is interrupted by somebody speaking and toasting to the couple.

Luke speaks mostly about their accomplishments as Jedi and service to the galaxy, topped with the natural wishes for their happiness together. Poe cracks an array of jokes that make everyone squirm with laughter. Finn has never been to a wedding before but makes quickly the conclusion that this is a part when he can open his heart and repeat several times how Rey was the first person to ever notice him and how dear friend she has become for him.

Leia puts together a gloriously structured mixture of advice lightened up with embarrassing memories of Ben’s childhood. Han beings the same way until he – breaks down in tears and has to finish by enclosing them in a silent hug that says everything.

The whole wedding is just like they dreamed of. But when the sun has set and the party starts drawing to a close, Ben grows nervous. Rey’s looks at him turn first increasingly flirtatious, then openly hungry. He cannot stop thinking about what kinds of expectations are hidden behind her burning eyes.

Since this is their wedding, it sure counts as a “special occasion”. Does it mean that she is now waiting for a steady stream of orgasms for the whole night and the following two days? How will he ever deliver that without tapping to the Dark Side of the Force?

Ben has prepared for this with all the possible means within the reach of the Light Side. He has spent hours in the temple, cramming through the ancient Jedi texts. He has taken all the herbs they recommend and done the appropriate breathing exercises meticulously daily. As a result, he is fairly confident he can make it up to the five hours promised by the texts. But will it ever be enough for Rey?

When Rey grows unbearably impatient, they wish their guests good night and ride a decorated speeder to their new home that they will share from now on. They have not fully finished arranging everything, but it already feels like theirs. Now they ignore the home, though, focus fully on each other and let all their desire unfold after keeping it at leash for over two years.

Whether Ben could make it for five hours or not, though, he does not get to find that out. Because after less than two hours, Rey is already completely done. When he is turning her on her side to give her yet another angle, she grabs his shoulder and makes an exhausted gesture to pull him down next to her.

“Will you just hold me, please? And we sleep and continue tomorrow, ok? Don't get me wrong, it’s been wonderful, beyond words, beyond my dreams. I’ve never felt this good. But I’m afraid I can’t take any more. Or I’ll burst or something. And I so much love to be held by you when I’m this tired and happy.”

Ben searches her eyes for confirmation. After all, she could either mean what she says or try to be polite. When she notices his hesitation, she pinches his cheek.

“Please, believe me now, sweetheart. I love you and I really really want this again tomorrow. But I also want to sleep next to you and wake up next to you. I’ve been waiting so long for doing that with you, you remember?”

She covers his face in soft kisses and plays with the uneven ends of his hair in a way that slowly convinces him. He lets go of the Force and gives it freedom to flow through his body and around it as It wills, even though it means losing his hard-on for now.

But Rey is right. It is a different kind of heaven to fall asleep with her in his arms. Even the Force Itself seems to love that, judging from the peaceful swirls and vibrations It makes in their shared space.

The sun is already high when they wake up in almost the same position, just shifted even closer. Ben has to inch his head backwards to be able to fully appreciate Rey’s face that is slowly waking up in the sunlight. He gets lost in every freckle, the trail of drool leading from the corner of her mouth down to the pillow and the eyelashes that lazily blink open, revealing bright hazel eyes that face his with overflowing love. That is when the space around them clicks into feeling like home.


End file.
